You can find on this page the Miami old map to print and to download in PDF. The Miami historical map and the vintage map of Miami present the past and evolutions of the city of Miami in Florida - USA.

Miami historical map

Map of Miami historical

The Miami old map shows evolutions of Miami city. This historical map of Miami will allow you to travel in the past and in the history of Miami in Florida - USA. The Miami ancient map is downloadable in PDF, printable and free.

Spaniards in the 16th century found a village (perhaps 2,000 years old) of Tequesta Indians on the historical site. The name Mayaimi, probably meaning “big water” or “sweet water,” may have referred to Lake Okeechobee or to local Native Americans who took their name from the lake as its shown in Miami historical map. In 1567 the Spanish established a mission there as part of a futile attempt to subdue the Tequesta. They ceded the area to Great Britain in 1763 but regained it in 1783. After the United States acquired Florida from Spain in 1821, Fort Dallas was built (1836) as a base during the Seminole Wars. A few settlers—among them Julia D. Tuttle, known as the “mother of Miami,” and William B. Brickell—gradually moved into the area.

In 1513, Juan Ponce de León was the first European man to see the Miami area by sailing into Biscayne Bay. He wrote in his journal that he reached Chequescha, which was Miami first recorded name. It is unknown whether or not he came ashore and made contact with the natives. Pedro Menéndez de Avilés and his men made the first recorded landing when they visited the Tequesta settlement in 1566 while looking for Avilés missing son, who was shipwrecked a year earlier. Spanish soldiers led by Father Francisco Villareal built a Jesuit mission at the mouth of the historical Miami River a year later but it was short-lived (see Miami historical map). By 1570, the Jesuits decided to look for more willing subjects outside of Florida.

After the Spaniards left, the Tequesta Indians were left to fend themselves from European-introduced diseases like smallpox. Wars with other historical tribes greatly weakened their population, and they were easily defeated by the Creek Indians in battles as its mentioned in Miami historical map. By 1711, the Tequesta sent a couple of local chiefs to Havana, Cuba to ask if they could migrate there. The Cubans sent two ships to help them, but Spanish illnesses struck and most of the Indians died. The Spaniards sent another mission to Biscayne Bay in 1743, where they built a fort and church. The missionary priests proposed a permanent settlement, where the Spanish settlers would raise food for the soldiers and American Indians. However, the proposal was rejected as impractical and the mission was withdrawn before the end of the year.

Miami vintage map

Map of Miami antique

The Miami vintage map give a unique insight into the history and evolution of Miami city. This vintage map of Miami with its antique style will allow you to travel in the past of Miami in Florida - USA. The Miami vintage map is downloadable in PDF, printable and free.

The earliest evidence of Native American settlement in the vintage region of Miami came from about 10,000 years ago as you can see in Miami vintage map. The region was filled with pine and hardwood forests and was home to plenty of deer, bear and wild fowl. The first inhabitants settled on the banks of the Miami River. The main villages were on the northern banks of the river. The early Native Americans created a variety of weapons and tools from shells. The inhabitants of the Miami area when the first Europeans visited were the Tequesta people, who controlled an area covering much of southeastern Florida, including what is now Miami-Dade County, Broward County, and the southern parts of Palm Beach County. The Tequesta Indians fished, hunted, and gathered the fruit and roots of plants for food, but did not practice any form of agriculture. They buried the small bones of the deceased, but put the larger bones in a box for the village people to see. The Tequesta are credited with making the Miami Circle.

The first permanent white settlers in the vintage area of Miami arrived around 1800 as its shown in Miami vintage map. Pedro Fornells, a Minorcan survivor of the New Smyrna colony, moved to Key Biscayne to meet the terms of his Royal Grant for the island. Although he returned with his family to St. Augustine after six months, he left a caretaker behind on the island. On a trip to the island in 1803, Fornells had noted the presence of squatters on the mainland across Biscayne Bay from the island. In 1825 U.S. Marshal Waters Smith visited the Cape Florida Settlement (which was on the mainland) and conferred with squatters who wanted to obtain title to the land they were occupying. On the mainland, the Bahamian "squatters" had settled along the coast beginning in the 1790s. John Egan had also received a grant from Spain during the Second Spanish Period.

In 1844, Miami became the county seat, and six years later a census reported that there were ninety-six residents living in the vintage area. The Third Seminole War (1855–58) was not as destructive as the second one as its mentioned in Miami vintage map. Even so, it slowed down the settlement of southeast Florida. At the end of the war, a few of the soldiers stayed. Some of the Seminoles remained in the Everglades. From 1858 to 1896, only a handful of families made their homes in the Miami area. They lived in small settlements along Biscayne Bay. The first of these settlements formed at the mouth of the Miami River, and was variously called Miami, Miamuh and Fort Dallas. Foremost among the Miami River settlers were the Brickells. William Brickell had previously lived in Cleveland, Ohio, California, and Australia, where he met his wife, Mary. In 1870, Brickell bought land on the south bank of the river. The Brickells and their children operated a trading post and post office on their property for the rest of the 19th century.